The US State Department has ruled out a link between the arrest of Asem Ghafoor, a former lawyer for Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the UAE, and the Khashoggi case.
Specifically, CNN quoted US State Department spokesman Ned Price as saying at a press briefing on Monday that the department had no “evidence” that last week’s arrest was linked to the Khashoggi case. Notably, “Ghafoor is a US citizen who was arrested last week at Dubai International Airport by UAE security forces.”
In this regard, Price said: “So far we have not seen any indication that his detention is related to his connection to Jamal Khashoggi, but we are still collecting information, again, as I said earlier, honestly and humanely.
He also said US consular officials visited Ghafoor at the Washington Embassy in Abu Dhabi on July 15 and 17 of the same month, and embassy officials attended his “virtual hearing today” on Monday.
“We have communicated to our Emirati partners our aspirations to ensure that Ghafur receives consular services on an ongoing basis, that he has a fair and transparent judicial process and that he is treated humanely,” the State Department spokesman added.
Emirates court on Saturday sentenced Ghafoor to 3 years in prison, according to the official Emirates news agency WAM.
A court in Abu Dhabi convicted Ghafoor of two crimes of tax evasion and money laundering related to a tax evasion operation in his country and sentenced him to 3 years in prison, a fine of 3 million dirhams (816 748 dollars) and deportation from the state.
Source: CNN